RMR Wealth Builders Decreases Stock Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

RMR Wealth Builders lessened its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 47.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,320 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,529 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders’ holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,680,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,206,995 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,664,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,964 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Coca-Cola by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,701,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,463,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,084,475 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,271,885,000 after buying an additional 4,013,996 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 6.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,984,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,990,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,609,565 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:KO traded down $0.73 during trading on Friday, hitting $60.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 22,417,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,975,237. The company has a market capitalization of $262.69 billion, a PE ratio of 25.20, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $62.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.48.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of several research reports. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.60.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks, sparkling flavors; water, sports, coffee, and tea; juice, value-added dairy, and plant-based beverages; and other beverages. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores.